


Tell You a Secret

by LadyNogitsune



Series: Salea [3]
Category: Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu | The Legend of the Legendary Heroes
Genre: Assassins & Hitmen, Backstory, Canon Compliant, Child Soldiers, Flowers, Friendship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Language of Flowers, Loyalty, Male-Female Friendship, Pre-Canon, Spies & Secret Agents, i think, mentions of violence and murder, no canon characters I'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 20:34:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9201821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyNogitsune/pseuds/LadyNogitsune
Summary: Side piece to "Salvation". In Salea, giving a purple tulip to someone is an expression of admiration, or devotion.Or: Two assassins walk into a flower shop...





	

**Author's Note:**

> Heyy, so I'd kind of disappeared and I'm incredibly sorry! I can't say if I'll be able to continue writing "Salvation" any time soon, but I'll post the chapter I'd not put up here yet in a bit, and I'm finally gonna publish this here too. I'd hesitated because well, this piece has only original characters in it and will probably not make too much sense to anyone not familiar with the main fic. However, I finally after I think over a year decided to put it up here and if I have any more comparable works in the future, I'll probably just turn this into a oneshot collection.
> 
> Anyway, this deals with Cleydres, the Guild and the Bard. It's short, but I hope you'll enjoy it regardless!

For a business that had not existed until two months ago, it was remarkable. Four rooms varying from medium to big in size were filled with colorful flowers originating from all corners of the Southern and Central Continent, and there were even some native to only the far north. An additional room contained a collection of herbs, whose purposes ranged from making for an excellent tea to alleviating or potentially curing a variety of illnesses. Behind the building, there was a garden a decent portion of the wealthy city folk could probably have been convinced to pay a considerable sum to enter.

From his position in the cool bright room furthest from the entrance, Cleydres could see the nondescript door that led to the garden. He, too, was curious to take a look, but not enough to risk getting into a dispute with any of the staff who kept passing by. Even so, he had waited in this spot for almost half an hour now, and he was bored.

To at least pretend to have something interesting to do, he picked up one of the few flowers within reach that weren't potted. A purple tulip. In Salea, hanging it outside one's bedroom window was said to ward off bad dreams. Giving it to someone would be an expression of admiration, or devotion.

Here in the Southern Continent, it held no such meaning at all.

Cleydres did not notice the shop's owner approach until she was already behind him. Her steps had been silent, and he hadn't been listening for them, because after all, he had no reason to guard himself against her.

„Thymien,“ he said and turned around, flower still in hand. „It is a pleasure to see you.“

Thymien cocked her head, like a cat contemplating a leaf blowing by. Her long dark hair followed the motion. „I didn't think there'd be news so soon.“

„Ah, well,“ Cleydres said, trying for a disarming smile. „I can't say there are news, per se.“

„You're here for personal reasons?“ Cleydres could not have said what it was that conveyed to him that the woman in front of him was very much displeased. Nothing obvious about her posture or expression had changed. Had her eyes become harder, her tone half an octave lower? Or perhaps it was simply his imagination, fueled by the pre-existing certainty that _of course_ Thymien would not appreciate his visit.

„You didn't exactly say goodbye.“

„I left instructions.“

„Are you saying you expected a letter containing more questions than answers to stop me?“

„I'm saying if I enjoyed being followed around, I would have done something different with my life. Something involving puppies, perhaps.“

Cleydres' lips curved. „Now that's a thought. Why did you never say anything? We could just have defected, all those years ago, and led a simple life raising cute little baby animals.“

„Right up until one of them took a bite at those beloved books of yours. You would have left in a fit.“

„Ah, but I would never leave you,“ Cleydres said in good cheer. He held out the flower to the woman with a flourish, and wasn't surprised when she accepted it with no indication that she appreciated the gesture. Perhaps she would keep it even so, or perhaps she would throw it away or hand it to a random passerby. It was all the same, in the end. 

Cleydres needed her to do nothing but accept the sentiment. „It's quite the trouble you're going to,“ he said. „You're not just bored, are you? That's the kind of thing _I_ might do if bored, but not you. Why the need for this elaborate set-up?“

Thymien's until then mostly neutral expression shifted into something more real. A small smile that sent a shiver up Cleydres' spine. „There's someone I have business with.“

„Business,“ Cleydres repeated. „Whatever did this unfortunate person do, to pull you from your duties?“

„You talk as if it must be personal.“

„Please. This is a nasty country, and perhaps it could be called interesting in some ways, but it's on the other end of the continent and hardly worthy of your notice. When was the last time Salea and Roland so much as exchanged formal greetings? Two hundred years ago?“

Thymien didn't reply immediately, walking over to a potted red lily and stroking one of its leaves between her fingers. „Entiell is from Roland.“

And just like that, things began to make sense. „From Roland as in...?“

Thymien's fingers remained on the flower. „A noble's adopted child. A soldier, or a living shield.“ Like her voice, Thymien's features betrayed nothing but that she was lost in thought. „It was an assassination mission. She was very young, and very skilled. I thought it was a waste to kill her. But killing him would have had the same result. Such foolish loyalty.“

Cleydres stared at her. „Are you saying you didn't complete the assignment?“

Thymien shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. There was, however, no such thing as simply abandoning a mission within the Guild. Not even for someone like Thymien – back then, in any case. 

The consequences of such an act... Cleydres himself was fond of Entiell. Much like had clearly been the case for Thymien, he had taken to her almost immediately; but had he known, had he been present at their first encounter all those years ago, he would have urged Thymien to kill her and be done with it.

„He no longer owns her loyalty, though,“ Thymien said. „He has a love for flowers.“

„Am I to understand no one else killed him in your stead, either?“

„I made sure of it.“

 _At what price_ , Cleydres wanted to ask. But instead he said, „Why?“

„Because,“ Thymien said, „he's not half as good as the dirt she walks on, but he thought he was better. He thought her life was his to command and his to throw away.“ Her hand moved away from the lily „I dislike it.“

It used to worry him how protective Thymien was of Entiell. Normally, she did not get involved with other people. She had always pursued her goals with a single-minded focus, quietly, patiently, looking out for no one but herself and – when it hadn't been too troublesome – Cleydres. In contrast, her affection for Entiell, or at least her interest in her well-being, had always been obvious to anyone who bothered to pay attention. It had been disconcerting, then, to see Thymien allow herself this kind of weakness. These days, he usually just found it refreshing.

Even so, Cleydres could not help but feel that this was too much of an effort for her to go to. It did not suit her.

„Should I kill him for you?“ he asked, even as he suspected his offer would be declined. After all, there were two months of active preparation involved, and possibly years of careful planning.

Thymien looked at him and smiled in amusement. „Why would I want you to?“

„He doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as you.“

„I want to see it, though,“ Thymien said, still smiling, though no longer for the same reason. Her tone took on a wistful note. „After he smells my flowers, how long will it take him to realize? How long will it take him to scream, or beg for mercy? When I deliver Entiell's regards, will he even remember her name? His life is mine, Cleydres.“

Cleydres sighed, though he understood. Because he knew her almost as well as himself, because in this they were almost entirely alike, he understood there was nothing for him here to interfere with.

„May the Bard's will be done,“ he said.


End file.
